Avoid using GAS and ELECTRIC !

cw18

To convert your gas meter units to kWh accurately you need two other figures from your bill which vary from bill to bill (if it's an Imperial meter you also need a third which is a 'static' figure) plus a static figure for both meter types, so after I get a bill I "guesstimate" using the same figures until I get the next bill.

If you're on a METRIC meter then you need the calorific value and the volume correction figures.

• Subtract your old meter reading from your new one to get the number of units (easy)
• Now multiply this by the calorific value - on my last bill with Scottish Power this was 40.3 -- so one meter unit becomes 40.3
• Then multiply the new figure (40.3) by the correction factor - which in my case was 1.02264 -- so my one meter unit is now 41.212392
• The take this latest figure and divide by 3.6 (fixed figure) - so my 1 meter unit now becomes 11.44789

So as Magentasue says you're not far out just multiplying by 11 (though I'm using 11.5 to over-estimate)



If you're on an IMPERIAL meter then you need the calorific value and the volume correction figures plus a figure I think is fixed at 2.83 -- and you have an extra calculation to do.

• Subtract your old meter reading from your new one to get the number of units (easy) and multiply by what I believe is always a fixed figure of 2.83 (it's in the small print on the right hand side of my Scottish Power bill) -- so one meter unit becomes 2.83
• Now multiply this by the calorific value - on my last bill with Scottish Power this was 40.3 -- so one meter unit becomes 114.049
• Then multiply the new figure (114.049) by the correction factor - which in my case was 1.02264 -- so my one meter unit is now 116.631069
• The take this latest figure and divide by 3.6 (fixed figure) - so my 1 meter unit now becomes 32.3975

so the quickest and easiest "guesstimate" for an imperial meter is to multiply by 33.

Magentasue

cw18 wrote: »

so the quickest and easiest "guesstimate" for an imperial meter is to multiply by 33.

I think 31.3 is the accepted multiplier but 31 is close enough. Unless you're contesting a bill, it's not necessary to know the formulas - using multipliers of 11 or 31 will give you a sufficiently accurate answer. Not strictly accuate, of course, but close enough to make a meaningful calculation for your gas bill.

No wonder my kids tell me I'm carbon-obsessed - I actually use this information on a weekly basis.

cw18

I have a spreadsheet I put my weekly reading into, and it does all the calculations for me -- including weekly average useage and cost over the last 12 months, 3 months and month............ so what does that make me :eek:

Magentasue

cw18 wrote: »

I have a spreadsheet I put my weekly reading into, and it does all the calculations for me -- including weekly average useage and cost over the last 12 months, 3 months and month............ so what does that make me :eek:

I dream of such possibilities ...;)

mardatha

so what does that make me :eek:
***********
...A VIRGO ??

cw18

Aquarius actually :rotfl:

But DH is Virgo, so perhaps I've picked it up from him -- although it's not something he'd have a clue how to do !! As far as he's concerned bills arrive and bills get paid -- but I've yet to see him check a single one (including receipts and change) in the 18+ years we've been together :eek:

shezza

mardatha wrote: »

so what does that make me :eek:
***********
...A VIRGO ??

Gosh I do this too, and I am a Virgo, I hadn't realised it was a trait :eek:

I have to admit it is a new thing to track my weekly electric usage, but it is helping me to look for ways to get my weekly usage down which has to be a good thing :rotfl:

bertiebots

Ok I am probably going to look really stupid here but how do you know what type of meter you have...?? Thanks for the tips so far btw.

morganb

Evening all!
How is the No-Heating-Till-The-First-November Challenge going?

We are still managing without any heating here, and we haven't even delved into our stack of fleeces yet.
I am even considering holding out until the 1st December ....

cw18

bertiebots wrote: »

Ok I am probably going to look really stupid here but how do you know what type of meter you have...??

mine says on it...... anything newer than ours (6.5 years) is almost certainly going to be metric. but I don't know when they started fitting that type.

one way is to look at an old bill. if the kWh use they charged you for is pretty close to the difference in meter readings multiplied by 10 then you're metric. if it's closer when you multiply by 30 then it's imperial.